MOD&JEU: Moderators of Online Gambling, How Effective?

Prevalence of problem gambling is estimated about 1-3% of the general adult population. This percentage increases to 5% when talking about online gambling. In France, the market for online gambling was recently opened up to competition and regulation (May 2010), including poker and sports/horse races betting, but excluding for the moment casino games. Recent international studies show that legalizing online gambling led to an increase of practices, including problem gambling. In France, the law stipulates the establishment of moderators of online gambling, to prevent excessive gambling practices. The Regulatory Authority of Online Games (ARJEL) guarantees the implementation of these moderators. However, no evaluation of the effectiveness of these moderators is planned. Therefore the investigators propose to conduct an experimental study about online gambling. The objective will be to evaluate the effectiveness of four kinds of moderators, some already legislated, but not evaluated, and others offered by the investigators team. Proposals for amending legislation will be made according the results of this study.